I agree the cast changes, and definitely the loss of the original Aunt Agatha, affect reaction to the series as a whole, but not necessarily individual episodes or seasons. To see characters switch from one role to another unrelated role was a bit disconcerting. The series 3/4 Gussie was a bookie in series 1; the original Marilyn Bassett becomes Florence Cray in 3/4. It was a monumental task, however, to put all 50 stories into one shorter body of work and this does the job well. I agree somewhat, about the accents: Janan Kubba's New York accent was delightful if odd. The mistake in most Brit productions is they don't hear a difference between Americans and Canadians. Some actors were Canadians and hence (apparently) sounded American to the BBC. I can tell the difference between a Northern dialect, Londoner and Welshman but was stunned tonight (for instance) watching a BBC production ("Carrie's War"), in which an "American airman" was identified as being from Pennsylvania (where I live) and having a southern drawl. Maybe we are picky; maybe we are more conscious because we watch more Britcoms than the average American. And maybe the majority of Englishman wouldn't notice that "aboot" is not something you'd hear south of the Canadian border. These are minor. The later episodes ARE more ridiculous and goofy, but I watch them on a regular basis. Laughter is precious; this is a clean, non-demeaning, and very pleasant escape that even the young members of the household can enjoy. How rare is that?
Review of Jeeves and Wooster
